I have been asked to do a tiered wedding cake for a friend and she wants a cascade of chocolate dipped strawberries up the sides and on top of the cake. Have no clue how to do this without the strawberries falling off the sides due to weight. Have never done chocolate dipped strawberries or put any strawberries on the sides of a cake before. This is my gift to the couple so it has to be perfect. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

I did one recently and I simply used toothpicks. I positioned the strawberries closely together so that they supported one another instead of having to rely on the cake for support alone.

thanks, Sun, I am really nervous about this, I appreciate your help!!

Once a strawberry is pierced, cut, or rubbed 'raw' it will leak juice I would not suggest using toothpicks unless they are there to support the weight of the berry, not stuck into it.

Dip a few berries at a time and lay on wax paper; let choco set up until it starts to get dull but the choco is still slightly soft. Start at the bottom of your cascade and put your largest berries there. The 'damp' choco of the next layer will adhere to the icing and the previous berries, holding it in place. Just keep climbing up the cake placing berries so they touch and the choco will harden to hold them into place.
I suggest you practice on a small cake before hand

I kind of wondered about the leakage thing...thanks for the info..think I will experiment for sure...thanks again for the help!!

You can still use toothpicks but don't pentrate the berries. As mentioned above, start stacking them from the bottom. Insert the toothpicks into the cake, creating a shelf or a cradle for the berry to sit in. Lay the berry on the toothpicks. The berries on the bottom will also help support them.

Strongly advice doing this after delivery and assembly. Also let the bride know that what she is requesting is very precarious.

I was planning on assembling it on site since I have to transport the cake about 25 miles up in the foothills to the wedding and I am planning on using hidden dowels to stack the cakes. I like the idea of using the toothpicks as "ledges" for the strawberries. I knew I could find my answers here. Everyone on the site is so helpful and creative!! I have about a month before the wedding so I will be getting in a lot of practice time between now and then.

Thanks again to everyone for your suggestions!!

If you don't want any of the toothpicks to show, you can pipe some green BC leaves throughout the berries to cover the ends of the t.picks.

Another great idea!!

And use SPS to support this cake!!

Luckily I didn't run into any juice leakage issues but using the toothpicks as a "shelf" is an awesome idea. I'll have to try that next time.

OK, I admit I am really new at this tiered cake stuff, but I am confused..what is the difference between the Wilton hidden pillars vs. the SPS system? I watched the video, but didn't understand the part about the "peg" in the middle?

OK, I have done my research and answered my own question. SPS looks great, but out of my money league, will just have to go with the dowels and assemble when I get there. Thanks so much everyone for all your great input!!

CakeCentral members rock!!!